Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum walked into her annual Halloween party in New York on 31 October 2026 as a giant, gruesome severed hand [1]. The costume was a re-creation of her own left hand, and it left her unrecognizable, with only her eyes and mouth showing [1] [2]. In a September interview with People she said the look would be “very, very bloody” and that it goes very well with red wine [3].

Klum turned 53 in June 2026 [6]. The party was her 25th annual Halloween party, held at Cathédrale in New York City [1] [2]. The party was presented by Apothic and Butterfinger [2].

An idea that started with her own hand

The idea came from her own body [2]. “I mean literally, my left hand inspired me,” she told E! News. “How can I fit my body into this hand? There must be a way” [2].

Before the party, she told Bild at a warm-up event in New York that viewers had never seen anything like it [4]. She said she was trying to fit her body into a shape that no human body normally fits [4].

Building the piece took months [2]. Her team spent months on it, with “many people, many hands doing this hand” [2]. Getting into the costume took about five to six hours, and she said the hardest part was carrying it: “It’s quite heavy” [1]. The finished look had long red nails and a thumb ring [1]. Blood dripped from her mouth, and helpers in blood-stained hazmat suits walked beside her [1]. The top of the hand ended in dangling ligaments and tendons [1].

Past costumes and the 2025 Medusa

Klum has used Halloween for big transformations for years [1]. CBS lists earlier looks including Medusa, a peacock, an 8-foot-tall Transformer, a werewolf from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” video and Kali, the multi-armed Hindu goddess [1]. In 2022 she arrived hanging from a fishing line, wrapped in a worm costume [1].

Her 2025 Medusa look ran from head to tail, with a long tail and rattlesnakes on her head [2]. Klum said everything was hand-painted and that about 15 people worked on it [2]. That party was held at the Hard Rock Hotel New York [1].

The party draws other guests who dress up as well [2]. E! reports that Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka came as the twins from The Shining, and that Taylor Momsen arrived as AC/DC guitarist Angus Young [2]. Ice-T and Coco Austin went as a burglar and a cat burglar, and Valentina Sampaio came as Poison Ivy [2]. Kyle MacLachlan wore his original costume as Cliff Vandercave, the villain from the 1994 Flintstones movie [2].

From a German contest to Sports Illustrated

Klum was born on 1 June 1973 in Bergisch Gladbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany [6] [7]. Wikidata describes her as a German-American model, television personality and businesswoman, and lists citizenship of both Germany and the United States [7].

She began modeling at 18 after winning a contest in Germany [6]. In 1992 she won Model ’92, a German television contest on Thomas Gottschalk’s talk show, according to Abendzeitung München [13].

In 1998 she appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue [6]. In 2001 she moved to the big screen in the hairdressing comedy Blow Dry, and later roles included Ella Enchanted (2004) [6].

Project Runway and the host’s chair

Project Runway premiered in December 2004 and soon became a hit [6]. Abendzeitung reports that Klum was one of eleven producers, and that she worked as host and head judge [13]. She hosted the show for 16 seasons [6]. In September 2018 she announced that she was leaving it [6].

Germany’s Next Topmodel and the years after

Not long after Project Runway launched, Klum began hosting Germany’s Next Topmodel [6]. The German version started on ProSieben in 2006, and Klum presented it [13]. In 2019 she launched another German show, Queen of Drags, a search for the most talented drag queen [13].

In March 2013 it was announced that Klum would join America’s Got Talent as a judge [6]. She left after six seasons [6]. She later returned to the judges’ table for the spin-off America’s Got Talent: The Champions [13].

In March 2020 she teamed up again with Tim Gunn for the debut of Amazon’s Making the Cut [6]. The pair set out to find the next global fashion label [13].

Emmy recognition

The Television Academy lists six Emmy nominations for Klum in the category Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program, from 2013 to 2018 [5]. The one win, in 2013, is recorded on the academy’s page for Klum and Tim Gunn [5].

Lingerie and jewelry lines

In October 2014 Bendon, an intimates company based in Auckland, New Zealand, announced Klum as the face and creative director of its flagship intimates collection. The collection was to be renamed Heidi Klum Intimates and launch on 1 January 2015 [8].

Her jewelry work came earlier [9]. TV Guide reported in 2011 that she would debut a costume jewelry line, Wildlife by Heidi Klum, on QVC on 8 September, priced from $30 to $200 [9].

On & Off the Catwalk

In February 2026 ProSieben and Joyn aired On & Off the Catwalk, a documentary series that follows Klum and her children Leni and Henry through their modeling jobs around the world [10]. Episodes ran on Sundays at 20:15 on 22 February and 1 March [10]. The first episode runs 92 minutes [11]. The series had been planned as a two-part primetime documentary for spring 2026 [12].